Somerset girls to host playoff

Golden Eagles boys hit the road

October 25, 2004

Somerset's boys' and girls' soccer teams have advanced to District 6 playoffs, but only one gets a home game.

The Golden Eagles boys finished the regular season 13-6 (11-4 Laurel Highlands Conference) and were seeded fifth. They will travel to LHAC rival Bedford to play a Class AA quarterfinal at 7:30 p.m. Thursday.

The Bisons (14-6) are the No. 4 seed and beat Somerset 2-0 on Sept. 30 in Somerset.

The Lady Golden Eagles (14-5-1, 11-3-1) earned a No. 3 seed for the Class AAA playoffs and will host Hollidaysburg (8-8-1) in a rematch from the regular season. That quarterfinal is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in Somerset.

Top seed State College (12-0-3) and No. 2 Central Mountain (12-4) host semifinals next Tuesday.

District 6 playoffs almost exclusively include doubleheaders in the opening rounds, often forcing teams with good records to play on the road. For instance, the Lady Eagles playoff is the second game of a girls' doubleheader featuring the top Class AA team, Westmont-Hilltop, which is playing No. 8 West Branch (9-11) at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. The Lady Hilltoppers would seem worthy of a home game with their lofty 17-1-1 record.

The Somerset-Bedford boys' game follows another Class AA girls quarterfinal, with No. 6 Central Cambria (10-5) and No. 3 Bishop McCort (12-4-1) both traveling to Bedford to play at 5:30 p.m. rather than playing an afternoon game in the Johnstown area.

The only District 6 playoff opener that is not a doubleheader features No. 5 Cambria Heights hosting No. 4 Belleville Mennonite (15-2) in a Class A boys' play-in game. The Trojans are the road team despite Belleville's record and location, several miles northeast of State College. Among the Trojans victories, Belleville defeated much larger schools like Huntingdon, the top Class AA seed, 3-1 Oct. 19 in a regular-season game.